However, the Black Cats boss insists the 19-year-old will be given a chance to prove himself in pre-season.

Wickham – an £8m signing from Ipswich Town last summer – has struggled to make an impact at the Stadium of Light, and is sidelined by an ankle injury.

Reports have linked the striker with a return – on loan – to the Tractor Boys.

However, wherever his future lies, O’Neill is keen to see Wickham benefit from a run of consecutive games.

He said: “It has been very difficult for Connor because since I have been here it has been stop-start for him.

“It is as much to do with injuries as anything else.

“I am quite sure Connor would benefit from a real run in the team.

“That is something, because of the nature of our position in December, January and a good part of February, we could not afford, that luxury of allowing players to play four or five games to bed themselves in.”

With that in mind, O’Neill is keen to assess his young stars during a “hectic” pre-season, and claims they will be given every opportunity to prove themselves.

He added: “It has been a problem for us in giving our younger players opportunities, specifically because our league position did not allow that.

“So from that viewpoint, pre-season suddenly becomes very important for these young players.

“To begin with, we have a very hectic schedule, playing in the Peace Cup out in Korea, so there are plenty of games and there will be plenty of chances in the close season for those who show they deserve them.

“If the younger players do not have an opportunity now then they will have a great opportunity in pre-season.

“I might be able to make a better assessment of them then before making any decisions.

O’Neill takes his side to Fulham tomorrow – before next week’s home game against Manchester United – determined to end the season on a high.

Send a story

Advertising Department

Print

The Chronicle is read by more adults than any other regional newspaper on sale in the area. With 170,115 average issue readers, this reach extends to 366,753 weekly readers – that’s over 1/4 of adults in the area!

The average time spent reading the Chronicle is 31 minutes; which shows the length of time that readers are engaging with the editorial and advertising content.

49,199* copies of the Chronicle are sold on average each day as it continues to be an integral part of the region.

*ABC Newcastle Chronicle 100% paid, Mon - Sat, JICREG, 1/10/2012

Online

Unique Users: 1.6m

Page Views: 10m

Audience figures from Omniture, monthly average (Jan - Jun 2014).

More than 1 in 3 ChronicleLive users have clicked through to an online advertisement, demonstrating that our users are responsive and receptive to Internet advertising messages.

ChronicleLive reaches an internet-savvy audience, with 84% of users having purchased products or services online in the past 12 months.

Download our rate cards for all the prices of our print and digital products.